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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25035826">Our Circumstance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imori_Hikaru/pseuds/Imori_Hikaru'>Imori_Hikaru</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Eventual Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Single Parent Iwaizumi, Single Parents</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:55:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25035826</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imori_Hikaru/pseuds/Imori_Hikaru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>His knee injury finally caught up to him. After a bad landing during a match Oikawa was officially done with volleyball. Returning home to Japan is bittersweet. He already missed the court, but there’s nothing he can do about it now. Being back in Japan means he can reconnect with his friends at least… with Iwaizumi. At first, Oikawa had managed to keep in contact with Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki but after a while they just stopped talking. It wasn’t like the conversations, the calls and the texts, just stopped all at once. They just got less and less frequent. Oikawa couldn’t hold that against his friends. They had each gone their separate ways.</p><p>Iwaizumi had a lot of regrets, but his daughter wasn’t one of them. She was his entire world. One night of poor choices changed everything for him, but he didn’t regret getting his daughter out of it. What he did regret was keeping quiet about it; hiding it from Oikawa and asking their friends to do the same. He missed Oikawa and often found himself wanting to reach out and repair their fractured relationship, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The damage was done. It wasn’t like Oikawa was coming home anyway…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>HQ Mini Bang</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>            Match point. Oikawa sucked in a deep breath before stepping back from the line and waiting for the whistle. They were in the third set, thirty points deep. If they could just score this point the match would end with them as the victors.</span>
</p><p> <span>At the whistle, Oikawa tossed the ball and went through the motions of serving. He put as much power behind it as he could. A service ace would be ideal, but he also didn’t want to risk overshooting and just giving away a point, sending them back to a duce.</span></p><p> <span>He watched intently as the ball slammed over the net. A wing spiker from the other team managed to get under the ball and control it well enough to get it up for their setter. Oikawa grimaced. The libero for Oikawa’s team narrowly managed to dive and save the ball after a killer spike from the other team’s ace. It was off course, not a great set up, but Oikawa would be damned if he didn’t at least try.</span></p><p> <span>His feet left the ground, his upper half twisting in order to send the ball back towards the net. To the capable hands of one of their spikers. The set wasn’t Oikawa’s best, but it had been in a bad position. His feet hit the ground and the pain shot through him immediately.</span></p><p> <span>He didn’t see the spike. He wasn’t sure if it got picked up or not. White spots began to cloud his vision. Oikawa wasn’t sure when he went down, but he realized that the cool surface under his face was the gym floor. No. </span><em><span>No.</span></em></p><p> <span>The crowd was cheering thunderously, something good happened. For what team though? He couldn’t be sure. If the other team scored, then he needed to get back up. He needed to be the pillar of the team. The control tower.</span></p><p>
  <span>The cheers suddenly went quiet. Deafeningly quiet.</span>
</p><p> <span>“Toru! Toru, what’s wrong?” The captain of his team was crouched in front of him. Worry etched into his strong features.</span></p><p> <span>Oikawa thought he said something about his knee, but by the look on the captain’s face he didn’t think that he had managed to form any intelligible words.</span></p><p> <span>“Hey, look at me.” The captain’s face disappeared in favor of the head coach’s. The edges of Oikawa’s vision was dark. It was hard to focus on looking at his coach. The pain was just too much.</span></p><p> <span>Oikawa pushed himself up into a sitting position, still gritting his teeth against the pain surging through him. He tipped his head to look at his knee, his coach snapped his fingers, catching Oikawa’s attention. Looking back at the coach, Oikawa noticed the assistant coach was there too. He was pale and looked like he might be sick. Oikawa moved to look at his knee again. This time his coach grabbed his face and forced him to keep his eyes on him.</span></p><p> <span>“It’s fine. Help is on the way.”</span></p><p> <span>“That doesn’t make it sound fine.” Oikawa managed to ground out. One of the coach's brows quirked up.</span></p><p> <span>“Does it feel fine?” Oikawa glared at him. He knew the answer to that already. His hand moved to his right leg, then he felt it. He knew his body. He was a professional athlete. It was his job to know his body. That’s not where his kneecap was supposed to be.</span></p><p> <span>“Coach…” His voice was hollow. He’d had patellar tendonitis since high school, hurting or irritating it wasn’t uncommon, but this felt different. Finally breaking away from the coach’s gaze, Oikawa looked down at his legs. His right kneecap was positioned higher than usual. It looked as though it had just slid up out of place.</span></p><p> <span>Oikawa’s wide, brown eyes darted back up to the coach’s concerned eyes just before the gym suddenly shifted on an axis. Oikawa felt the floor come back up to meet him and the black that had teased the corners of his vision consumed him.</span></p><p>
  <span> *************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Home sweet home. Oikawa sighed as he hobbled towards the front door. He was glad to finally be home. The plane ride had been miserable. His knee was aching and he just wanted some sleep. If he thought flying was usually a nightmare, flying while on crutches was a special kind of hell. At least he was able to ship his luggage. Dealing with more than his backpack would have been an even bigger disaster.</span>
</p><p> <span>He clattered through the door, ever the picture of grace with his bulky, full-length leg brace and crutches. The house was quiet, other than his clamoring about. He didn’t particularly mind his parents being out, it was probably better if no one saw him struggling.</span></p><p> <span>His bed was calling to him, but the barrier of the stairs was too much to even think about overcoming right now. Instead, Oikawa made his way to the living room and unceremoniously flopped down onto the couch. He lifted his leg up onto the plush surface and tossed around as much as he could before finally managing to fall asleep.</span></p><p>
  
</p><p> <span>By the time Oikawa finally woke up, it was dark outside. Someone, presumably his mother, had draped a blanket over him at some point. He shoved it off and struggled to get up  from the couch.</span></p><p> <span>After a quick pit stop in the bathroom, he made his way to the kitchen. He wasn’t surprised to see a plate with plastic wrap over it waiting for him on the table. There was a hint of guilt for sleeping through the day, since it was the first time his parents were seeing him in almost six years, but damn was he tired.</span></p><p> <span>He hadn’t given himself much time after his surgery before flying home. The idea of staying in Argentina made his stomach twist into knots. He was there to play professional volleyball. If he couldn’t play, what was even the point of being there at all?</span></p><p> <span>He paused, plate halfway in the microwave. He could apply that mentality to his life in general. What was the point now that volleyball was over? He’d put everything into volleyball. Dedicated his life to it. Left behind the people he cared about in pursuit of his career. He closed the microwave door and recovered the plate. He hobbled his way to the fridge and put it in there instead.</span></p><p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa was nothing if not stubborn. His mom had scolded him for being so adamant about taking a walk this morning. She’d insisted that since he was injured and should be resting. It had been a week and he was going  stir crazy. He’d never gone this long without being active in some way. It was miserable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, so it was less walking and more hobbling. He was upset about being home under these circumstances, but he was actually happy to be home. He hadn’t even realized how much he missed the familiarity of everything until he was back.</span>
</p><p> <span>Of course, he also missed Iwaizumi, but he wasn’t sure what to say to him yet. He had been afraid to ask his parents or nephew about him. Oikawa wasn’t sure what they would know, if anything. Iwaizumi had gone off to college, who knows if he’d even come back to Miyagi.</span></p><p> <span>Oikawa let his thoughts drift as he made his way to a picnic table at the little park near his and Iwaizumi’s childhood homes. It took longer than he’d expected to get himself down onto the little bench and to heft his braced leg up onto the bench. He let his crutches clatter to the ground, already over trying to get them to balance on the side of the picnic table.</span></p><p>
  <span>Finally settled, he closed his eyes and tipped his head back, taking in the emotions swirling around inside him.</span>
</p><p> <span>“Oikawa?” The voice jerked Oikawa out of his thoughts. He blinked at the two men in front of him, on the opposite side of the table. He started to smile, but it quickly fell away when he registered the small body tucked up against Matsukawa’s chest.</span></p><p> <span>“We didn’t realize you were back…” Hanamaki started, glancing nervously between Oikawa and Matsukawa.</span></p><p> <span>“Um,” Oikawa swallowed, unsettled by the tension between them. “Yeah, I just got in last week.” Matsukawa shifted the toddler in his arms, she had turned to look at Oikawa but quickly turned to tuck her face into the crook Matsukawa’s neck. Oikawa assumed she must be shy.</span></p><p> <span>“Yeah?” Hanamaki asked with an awkward chuckle. “How long do you think you’ll be around?” Oikawa bit his lower lip at this question. A familiar lump formed in his throat. He refused to let his emotions out, especially not in front of the friends he hadn’t seen in years.</span></p><p> <span>“I--” he cleared his throat. “I’ll be here for a while…” Oikawa wanted to say more, to tell them he was here to stay, but everything felt too raw. Like if he said it out loud, then it was really over. That volleyball was over. Deciding instead to change the subject, he turned his attention to Matsukawa. Before he could get his question out, Matsukawa spoke first.</span></p><p> <span>“It’s nice to see you, but we probably should get Airi back. It’s time for her nap.” Hanamaki gave Matsukawa a look that Oikawa couldn’t quite decipher.</span></p><p> <span>“Is she yours?” Oikawa hadn’t actually intended to ask the question, it just sort of slipped out. He didn’t really think the toddler was Mattsun’s since the guy had never been a fan of small children when they were in high school, but he couldn’t really think of anyone he knew that had a kid either.</span></p><p> <span>“What? No, she’s—” Matsukawa grunted, one of Makki’s elbows nailing him in the side, careful to avoid hitting Airi.</span></p><p> <span>“Sorry, Oikawa,” Hanamaki offered a sympathetic smile to Oikawa. “We really need to get going, but maybe we can catch up while you’re still in Japan?” Matsukawa nodded solemnly. “Text me and we’ll figure something out.”</span></p><p> <span>“Yeah…” Oikawa said softly. Mattsun and Makki had already started walking away. He couldn’t think of a single time they’d had a more strained conversation. Had they really drifted so far apart that they couldn’t even hold a simple conversation? </span></p><p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi was in the kitchen, finishing up dinner. He heard the front door open and close just as he turned off the heat on the stove.</span>
</p><p> <span>“Daddy!” The toddler darted into the kitchen and into the waiting arms of Iwaizumi, who had crouched down preemptively for his little girl.</span></p><p> <span>“Hey, princess, did you have a good day with your uncles?”</span></p><p> <span>“Uh-huh,” the little girl grinned, nodding in an exaggerated fashion. “Always.” Iwaizumi chuckled.</span></p><p> <span>“How about you tell me all about it while we have dinner?”</span></p><p> <span>“Are uncle Mattsun and Makki going to eat with us?” Airi asked, her brown eyes wide and pleading. Airi’s speech was still in that stage where there were “w” sounds mixed in, especially on her r’s and hard consonants. Mattsun and Makki sounded adorably funny in Airi’s still developing speech. Iwaizumi personally thought it was adorable, but then again, he thought  everything about his daughter was adorable. Iwaizumi looked up at his friends for confirmation.</span></p><p> <span>“Yup, we’re gonna hang out for a bit, Riri.” Mattsun offered, placing Airi’s bag on the coffee table in the living room. “We need to talk to your daddy after dinner.” He said it as though it was directed at Airi, but it was a statement meant for Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi’s brows shot up in question and he looked over at the pinched expression on Hanamaki’s face.</span></p><p> <span>“Yay!” Airi, focused on the fact they were staying for dinner, ran over to Hanamaki and grabbed one of his large hands with both of her tiny ones. “We need to wash our hands! Uncle Makki, come on!” Despite the concern that lingered in the back of Iwaizumi’s mind, he couldn’t help but smile as Airi pulled Hanamaki off towards the bathroom.</span></p><p> <span>Dinner passed as it usually does. Airi did most of the talking for them, the more excited she got the less sense her sentences made, but the three of them understood well enough. She told Iwaizumi about the ongoings of the day while under Matsukawa and Hanamaki’s care, with slight prompting from them on a few occasions.</span></p><p>
  
</p><p> <span>“So,” Iwaizumi took a seat in an armchair adjacent to the couch that Matsukawa and Hanamaki had settled themselves in while Iwaizumi put Airi to bed. “What did you guys want to talk to me about.”</span></p><p> <span>“Oikawa’s back,” Matsukawa said, leaning back and spreading his arms across the back of the couch. Hanamaki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He’d planned on easing into it, but whatever.</span></p><p> <span>“We ran into him earlier.” Hanamaki continued since Iwaizumi just stared at them as if he couldn’t comprehend what Matsukawa had just said.</span></p><p> <span>“He knows about Airi—”</span></p><p> <span>“—But not that she’s yours.” Iwaizumi sat there for a few moments longer, blinked, and then he leaned forward, planting his elbows on his knees. Worry etched into his features as he stared at the floor. “Maybe you just need to talk to him already.” Makki added softly.</span></p><p> <span>“It’s a long overdue conversation,” Matsukawa’s eyes watched Iwaizumi carefully, awaiting his reaction. Iwaizumi finally looked back up at his friends, his mouth opened but no sound came out. Matsukawa and Hanamaki remained silent, letting Iwaizumi take a minute to take in the information and idea of finally coming clean to Oikawa.</span></p><p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi took a deep breath before knocking on the door. He wasn't ready. He'd kept Airi a secret for too long. It was likely going to be an awkward conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa's nephew answered the door, startling Iwaizumi from his thoughts. Iwaizumi smiled, or tried to anyway, at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Takeru, is Oika— Toru around?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He's at the hospital right—"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?" Iwaizumi gaped at Takeru.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, he—" Iwaizumi cut Takeru off again, already starting away from the house. Takeru shook his head with a sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi realized that in his rush to get to the hospital he hadn't asked Takeru any details, such as if Oikawa could even have visitors or what room he was in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was in the main lobby, making his way towards the reception desk, when a surprised voice stopped him in his tracks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Iwa-chan?" The nickname made his heart falter, he whirled around to face Oikawa. Relief rushed over him. Oikawa was okay. His excitement came to a crashing halt when his eyes finally fixed on his friend. Oikawa had a pair of crutches supporting him, and his leg was in a brace, a brace that spanned most of his leg, completely immobilizing it. He hadn't even realized he was staring, until Oikawa was suddenly a few inches away from him. Oikawa's fingers found the underside of Iwaizumi's chin, pushing up to close his mouth. "You're going to let flies in," Oikawa said softly, not meeting Iwaizumi's eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your knee?" Iwaizumi's voice sounded foreign.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mhm," Oikawa finally met his eyes. Iwaizumi could feel the sadness radiating from them despite the easy smile on Oikawa's face.</span>
</p><p> <span>“I thought—” Oikawa tipped his head in understanding.</span></p><p>
  <span>“What exactly did you hear?” He asked, a hint of amusement crept into his tone. Iwaizumi looked embarrassed.</span>
</p><p> <span>“Just that you were here.” Iwaizumi shrugged.</span></p><p> <span>“I’m honored, Iwa-chan rushed here on my behalf.” Oikawa’s voice pitched up slightly as he pressed a hand to his chest dramatically.</span></p><p> <span>“Oh, shut up,” Iwaizumi couldn’t help but smile. There it was, the banter he knows and loves. His eyes trailed down to the brace Oikawa was wearing. “Do you need a ride?”</span></p><p> <span>“A ride?” Oikawa echoed, not really hearing Iwaizumi. He was too focused on taking in the handsome smile on Iwaizumi’s face.</span></p><p> <span>“Yeah, how were you planning to get home?”</span></p><p> <span>“Oh,” Oikawa realized Iwaizumi had asked a fairly simple question.</span></p><p> <span>“I was going to call a car—”</span></p><p> <span>“I drove. I could just drive you,” Iwaizumi offered, trying to sound nonchalant, even though he would have begged Oikawa to let him drive him. If nothing else, he wanted to spend just a few more minutes with him.</span></p><p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa laid in bed, wincing as he shifted and bumped his knee. It wasn’t exactly comfortable to sleep with his brace on, but he quickly learned it was better with than without. He lazily scrolled through his Instagram timeline, not quite ready to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi. It was so nice to see his face after all this time, to hear his voice. He was the same as always, yet somehow so different. Iwaizumi hadn’t hit or insulted him for hurting himself like he would have in high school. There was something that Oikawa couldn’t quite put his finger on, but something had changed Iwaizumi.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He bit into the flesh of his lower lip as he thought back to Iwaizumi’s slow withdrawal after Oikawa had left. His mind drifted back to Iwaizumi’s reluctance to answer his calls and the clipped one-word responses to his texts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked the darkness of his room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa panted, having struggled with the stairs. He was sure that if he'd asked, Iwaizumi would have been willing to meet him somewhere a little more crutch friendly, but he was here now and that's all that mattered. He rang the bell, shuffling over to lean against the balcony railing while he waited for Iwaizumi to answer the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn't take long. Iwaizumi's frame took up the small doorway. Oikawa was still taller, but Iwaizumi had always had more muscle mass. They stood there, staring at one another until Iwaizumi took a step back and gestured for Oikawa to come in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How did you get up the stairs?" Iwaizumi asked while Oikawa fussed with getting his shoes off. Oikawa rose a brow at this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How do you think? Honestly, Iwa-chan," there was a soft teasing tone to his voice that made Iwaizumi smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Dumbass," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Oikawa, finally done with his shoes, looked at Iwaizumi.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, can I actually come in or are we just going to stand in the entryway?" A trail of red made its way up Iwaizumi’s neck. He coughed and looked away from Oikawa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, sorry,” he forced his body to move to the living room and kitchen area. “Do you want something to drink?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Awkward</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So very awkward. Oikawa looked to Iwaizumi, as if asking for permission to sit on the couch. At Iwaizumi’s nod, he dropped onto the plush surface, gently placing his crutches on the floor so they would be relatively out of the way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Water would be great,” Oikawa didn’t actually want anything, but he could tell Iwaizumi was itching for something to do other than stare at him and his ugly leg brace. Oikawa watched the muscles move under Iwaizumi’s shirt while he retrieved a pair of glasses from the cabinet and then moved to the sink to fill them. Oikawa sighed softly, relishing in just being in the presence of his favorite person once again.</span>
</p><p> <span>Once Iwaizumi had placed the two glasses on the coffee table, he lowered himself onto the other side of the couch, careful not to step on Oikawa’s crutches. Choosing to take the lead, Oikawa decided to talk about Argentina and volleyball, hoping that if he opened up about what he’s been up to these past couple years, so would Iwaizumi.</span></p><p>
  
</p><p> <span>They somehow managed to fall into easy conversation. It drifted away from Oikawa’s time playing pro in the Argentinian league to memories from their high school days. It was fun, the awkwardness dissipated, and they were able to laugh and joke like they used to.</span></p><p> <span>“So,” Oikawa wiped at a tear brought on by laughing too hard at a story involving Mattsun and Makki, “tell me about college.” Iwaizumi’s smile dropped off and he looked uncertain. Oikawa’s brows drew together in concern at this reaction.</span></p><p> <span>“Look, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi was looking everywhere but at Oikawa, “there’s something I need to tell you…” Oikawa almost missed it, but there was a small tremble in his usually confident best friend’s voice, and he was suddenly very on edge.</span></p><p> <span>“Iwaizumi—” The sound of the front door opening pulled Oikawa’s attention, his immediate thought was that Iwaizumi had met someone and hadn’t told him. His brown eyes flitted over to Iwaizumi, who looked pale.</span></p><p> <span>“Honey, I’m home,” Matsukawa’s voice called out sarcastically, followed by a high-pitched giggle. There was a sound of something, presumably shoes, cluttering around before Matsukawa appeared. His eyes widened the second he saw Oikawa sitting on the couch, his eyes found Iwaizumi’s, which were wide. It was easy to read the tension of his body. “Shit,” he bit out.</span></p><p>
  <span>A little girl darting from behind Matsukawa, straight to Iwaizumi. She tripped on Oikawa’s crutches, but Iwaizumi caught her before she hit the ground. She giggled at she wrapped her little arms around Iwaizumi’s neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I missed you, daddy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Oikawa choked out after staring at the Iwaizumi and the little girl, Airi, as Mattsun had called her the other day. “I should go.” Oikawa wished he could make a clean getaway, but it was incredibly difficult with a set of crutches and an immobile leg.</span>
</p><p> <span>“Oikawa, wait—” Iwaizumi stood, his daughter in his arms.</span></p><p> <span>“I have somewhere I need to be.” No one believed this, but Iwaizumi didn’t move. Oikawa looked so hurt. His eyes screamed of betrayal, and Iwaizumi couldn’t blame him. There wasn’t anything Iwaizumi could say to fix this. Matsukawa watched awkwardly as Oikawa clattered past him. He shot a look at Iwaizumi.</span></p><p> <span>“You’re just going to let him go?” Iwaizumi shrugged.</span></p><p> <span>“Yeah,” There was a crack in his voice, which Airi immediately noticed.</span></p><p> <span>“Daddy?” Her green eyes were wide, “Are you okay?” Her lower lip trembled slightly, feeding off her dad’s energy.</span></p><p> <span>“I’m okay, baby,” Iwaizumi whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’m fine.” Matsukawa shook his head and followed Oikawa out the door. Normally, someone would have been well on their way, but Oikawa was still working his way down the stairs. Matsukawa thought it was sad, watching Oikawa fumble and struggle with something so simple.</span></p><p> <span>“Do you want some help?” Oikawa glared up at Matsukawa. Matsukawa’s eyes widened slightly, shocked at the wet streaks on Oikawa’s cheeks.</span></p><p> <span>“I’m fine.” He sounded just as convincing as Iwaizumi did, which was not at all. Mattsun took a few steps down the stairs but stopped when Oikawa sniffled. He stood there watching as Oikawa managed to get himself down the stairs and started off in the direction of his house. Matsukawa backtracked into Iwaizumi’s apartment. Iwaizumi was seated once again, Airi nestled on his lap.</span></p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I had no idea he was here.” Matsukawa apologized. “I tried to text you that I was bringing her home…”</span>
</p><p> <span>“It’s fine,” Iwaizumi sighed, patting Airi’s head as she looked at them wide-eyed and confused. “I knew this wasn’t going to end well.</span></p><p> <span>“You still love him, huh?” Mattsun asked gently.</span></p><p> <span>“Is it that obvious?” Iwaizumi asked miserably.</span></p><p> <span>“Sorry, man.” Iwaizumi groaned.</span></p><p> <span>“Who do you love, daddy?” Airi asked, scooting off his lap and onto the couch cushion beside him. “The man with the funny leg?” Matsukawa bit his lower lip, fighting off a laugh. He earned half hearted glare from Iwaizumi.</span></p><p> <span>“It’s called a brace, honey.” Iwaizumi started to explain. “He has an ouchie and it’s helping him get better.” Airi’s eyes widened.</span></p><p> <span>“Is it a bad ouchie?” Iwaizumi smiled sadly at his daughter, ruffling her hair.</span></p><p> <span>“Yeah, baby, it is.” Airi was already moving off the couch and towards the table where she still had crayons laying out from the night before. “Airi,” Iwaizumi got up to intercept her. “How about we do that tomorrow, okay? It’s time for bed.”</span></p><p> <span>“Aw,” Airi’s lower lip popped out. “But daddy’s friend has an ouchie.” Iwaizumi didn’t understand at first, but then he realized she was going to draw him a picture. When Iwaizumi’s grandmother was hospitalized, he’d told her that it would help her feel better. He kissed the top of her head and picked her up. Her little arms immediately went around his neck. He squeezed her against him. He was sure he had the sweetest little girl in the world.</span></p><p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa felt numb the entire walk home. When he finally got home, he hadn’t even noticed the concerned looks from his family. He wasn’t sure how to feel. He never would have guessed that Iwaizumi was a father. And this clearly wasn’t something new. Not only had Iwaizumi not bothered to mention that he just happened to knock someone up and was now raising a little girl, but Mattsun and Makki hadn’t mentioned it either.</span>
</p><p> <span>Oikawa stilled, the numbers falling into place. The timeline matched up. Airi’s age and the dates that his friends started to become distant. Did they really stop talking to him because they were trying to keep this secret from him? This major secret? Why did they hide it from him?</span></p><p>
  <span>He didn’t understand. They were friends, weren’t they? Why not share something so significant as having a baby with him? Oikawa felt sick. Moving clumsily, Oikawa managed to get off his bed and across the room just in time to wretch in the trash can beside his desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Iwaizumi smiled at the sleeping face of his newborn. She was finally home, and he was excited for her to meet Matsukawa and Hanamaki. He would have called them immediately, but with things as complicated as they were it wasn’t the best idea to invite anyone to see her in the hospital. Now, she was home and it was just her and Iwaizumi.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sending a quick text to his friends, he tucked the phone away to instead focus on getting a few things situated in the nursery while his daughter slept in her carrier that doubled as a car seat. He figured he didn’t have long before she woke up and needed to be fed, so he might as well get a few things done while he could.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>After she’d woken up, Iwaizumi changed her diaper and was preparing a bottle for her when the doorbell rang. Leaving the bottle to continue warming and making sure Airi was secure in her carrier, he went to let his friends in.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey,” Iwaizumi offered, stepping aside so Matsukawa and Hanamaki could come in.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey,” they said in unison, toeing off their shoes as they followed Iwaizumi further into his apartment. Iwaizumi retrieved the bottle, testing the temperature before turning back to Mattsun and Makki. They were staring at the little one, Matsukawa’s nose was wrinkled, like he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at, but Hanamaki had on a small smile.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What’s her name?” Hanamaki asked, finally looking over to Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi couldn’t help the grin that spread across his own face.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Airi,” he told them softly. He thought the name suited his baby girl. Short and sweet. Iwaizumi picked her up out of the carrier, tucking her in the crook of his arm. She wasn’t fussing, but if he didn’t feed her soon, she would be. He sat in the center of the couch, offering her the bottle, which she greedily latched on to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Have you figured out what you’re going to do while you’re at work?” Hanamaki asked, sitting down beside Iwaizumi. Matsukawa chose to perch on the arm of the couch beside Hanamaki rather than going to sit on the other side of Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi sighed softly, keeping his eyes on Airi for a few moments longer before finally pulling them away to look at his friends. There was an almost guilty, pleading look in his eyes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I was kind of wondering if the two of you would mind watching her for me? At least until I find a proper sitter…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What? No— ow!” Matsukawa’s objection was cut off then Hanamaki stomped on his foot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We don’t mind watching her.” Hanamaki said instead while Matsukawa grumbled under his breath.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re sure?” Iwaizumi asked, his gaze on Matsukawa.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes, it’s fine,” Makki insisted. “I work from home, so it’s not like it would be a problem.” Hanamaki looked over at his disgruntled boyfriend, raising an eyebrow at him, almost as if he was daring him to tell Iwaizumi no again.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah,” Matsukawa conceded. He didn’t know the first thing about babies, why would anyone trust him to watch a baby? Especially one that small and… squishy.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Oikawa stared at himself in the mirror for a long moment. He couldn’t help but think this was adding insult to injury. Literally. Oikawa suffered an injury and as a result his career was finished. There was nothing he could do about it. When his patellar tendon tore, it ripped away his only passion and what he'd worked towards his entire life. Now the insult, that was the fact Oikawa was smart. He had good grades all his life and would have been successful had he gone to college. Would have. He gave that option up when he left Japan for Argentina in pursuit of his volleyball career. He didn't go to school like his peers had, and while it worked out for him initially, he was now uncertain about the choice he had made so confidently before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa didn’t have any work experience either. He hadn't ever needed to work while he was playing volleyball. He'd managed with the generosity of sponsors. With no technical skills or education, Oikawa was basically screwed. At 25 years old Oikawa had hit rock bottom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huffing out a final sigh he left this bathroom and grabbed his keys and started out for work. After getting his brace off and making significant progress in physical therapy, he moved out of his parents place as soon as he could. His place was small, and a bit dingy, but it was what he could afford on his own. His savings were only going to last him so long, and he didn’t particularly want to drain them as quickly as he was. Working multiple part-time jobs was his only option right now. Even if it was taking a toll on him physically and mentally.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Airi gasped loudly, her hands fluttering dramatically before landing on her cheeks to emphasize her shocked expression. Iwaizumi momentarily wondered where the heck that action had come from before he managed to suppress the need to roll his eyes. He was going to just assume Hanamaki was to blame for that. He eyed his daughter, crouching down to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What is it, princess?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I remember now!" Iwaizumi's brows crept up in question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Remember what?" He hardly had time to get the question out before Airi was talking over him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I remember where I'd seen your pretty friend before!" She clapped her hands in delight, beaming up at Iwaizumi. "He's pretty number one!" Iwaizumi's brain struggled to catch up to his daughter's thoughts for a moment, then his brain stalled for a completely different reason. The pretty friend was Oikawa. Matsukawa and Hanamaki must have photos from high school in their house if she recalls the number one in relation to Oikawa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You think he's pretty?" Iwaizumi surprised himself by asking that, not sure why he did, but he found himself genuinely curious as to what Airi thought of Oikawa. Her head bobbed violently as she nodded her confirmation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He's very pretty! Very, very pretty!" Iwaizumi rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ignore the heat crawling up it. He had to agree with her. Oikawa had always been attractive. That certainly hadn't changed. Iwaizumi opened his mouth, about to ask her why she suddenly remembered this, but she beat him to it. Pointing towards the checkout counter. “Is he sick?” Iwaizumi’s head whipped around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa looked a bit like a walking corpse. He was pale and had bags under his eyes. Iwaizumi wondered when the last time he got a good night's sleep was. He was still pretty though.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to go talk to him, do you want to pick something out from the candy aisle and meet me up there?” Airi’s eyes grew, she nodded her head before darting off in the direction of the color shelves of candy near the front of the store. Normally, Iwaizumi wouldn’t let her pick something out herself, and he would go with her, but he would be able to see her from the counter and he wanted to check on Oikawa before trying to introduce them again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Iwaizumi placed his basket on the counter. Oikawa must have been more sleep deprived than Iwaizumi originally thought since he started scanning items from the basket before he even realized it was Iwaizumi in front of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Oikawa’s eyes were focused on Iwaizumi’s purchases rather than the man himself. “Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You just look—” Iwaizumi bit his tongue. Telling him he looked like shit wouldn’t do him any favors. Oikawa looked up at Iwaizumi.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do I look like?” His eyes held Iwaizumi’s before Iwaizumi broke eye contact to steal another glance in his daughter’s direction. She was standing with her fist to her chin, as if contemplating her choice very hard. Once Oikawa’s eyes landed on Airi he focused back on his task of scanning barcodes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tired,” Iwaizumi finally answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Congrats on the baby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The what?” Iwaizumi’s nose wrinkled at the bridge. “Oh, Airi? She’s not exactly a baby anymore.” He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Oikawa’s frown deepened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I noticed. Is this all for you today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oikawa—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this okay, daddy?” Airi held up a bag of candy. Iwaizumi ruffled her hair and picked her up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If that’s the one you want.” She grinned and nodded before stretching her arms out to offer it to Oikawa. Oikawa stared at them for just a beat too long, gingerly taking the bag from her and ringing it up as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re daddy’s friend!” Airi smiled at Oikawa, who’s eyes met Iwaizumi’s as if questioning if that statement was still true. “Is your leg all better now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Airi,” Iwaizumi’s voice held a stern note that surprised Oikawa a bit. He wasn’t sure why, since Iwaizumi scolded him all the time.</span>
</p>
<p> <span>“It’s fine,” Oikawa shrugged, taking Iwaizumi’s debit card to run it for his purchase.</span></p>
<p> <span>“Airi, this is Oikawa. We grew up together.” Iwaizumi introduced them officially.</span></p>
<p> <span>“Nice to meet you, Airi.” Oikawa’s jaw clenched as he tried to smile at the little girl, ignoring the pain that wrapped around his heart. He handed Iwaizumi his card back as well as his receipt. “Maybe next time I can meet your mom.” Oikawa was trying to be polite, but Iwaizumi’s body stiffened, arm tightening around Airi protectively.</span></p>
<p> <span>“I don’t have a mom,” Airi said easily. Oikawa’s tired eyes flew open, holding his breath as he looked over at Iwaizumi, fearing the worst. “But I have daddy and uncle Mattsun and uncle Makki!” Oikawa smiled sympathetically at the pair.</span></p>
<p> <span>“That sounds like a great family.” Another customer wandered over, putting an end to the strained conversation.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>******************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“We need to talk,” Iwaizumi blinked at the thin brunette who had managed to cut off his escape from the lecture hall. It took him a long moment to place her. Even then, the memories of that night were a fractured mess. He remembered the phone call with Oikawa, him saying that he met someone shortly before Iwaizumi hung up on him. He hadn’t trusted himself to speak. It had felt like he was drowning. He’d loved Oikawa since they were kids, it hurt too much to hear about someone else.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He went to a party. He wasn’t into the party scene, but he had made an exception that night. He gladly accepted a few drinks the moment he entered the house. He lost count at some point and stopped paying attention to what it was he was even drinking. He didn’t care. He welcomed the warm fuzzy feeling the alcohol brought on. He didn’t want to think about Oikawa, Argentina, or someone else catching Oikawa’s eye.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>From there everything gets fuzzy. There’s voices and music. A pretty brunette bumped into him. He doesn’t remember how it happened, but they end up leaving together. He vaguely remembers clothes hitting the floor and letting her take the lead. Next thing he knows, the sun is beaming through the window and he’s in a room he doesn’t recognize. He’s naked, and so is the strange girl whose name he doesn’t even know.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>His mind was mulling over the multitude of mistakes he made that night. He realized she was saying something, and he shook his head to physically shake the thoughts away.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m sorry, what?” Her eyes lowered at him, unimpressed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Seriously? You’re going to make me repeat all that?” Iwaizumi started to apologize, but she rose a manicured hand to cut him off. “Save it. Let me make this simple for you,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m pregnant, and it’s yours.” The words began to sink in, and Iwaizumi feared he was going to throw up. He didn’t know what to say to that, or if he really could say anything.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m—I’m sorry,” he tried, his eyes frantically drifting between her face and her stomach, which was obviously still flat, but not for long he supposed. She scoffed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah, well, I guess it doesn’t matter. I’m not keeping it.” His eyes fixed on her’s unwilling to look away now.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jeez, do I need to spell everything out for you? I don’t want a baby and I’m not willing to raise one.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I am.” Iwaizumi wasn’t sure what made him say it, he was in no place to raise a kid, but something felt so wrong about the idea of “not keeping it.” The girl laughed bitterly.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Excuse me?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“If you,” Iwaizumi paused to swallow thickly, knowing full well what was about to come out of his mouth was going to be stupid. “If you have the baby… I’ll raise it.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you trying to trap me with a kid? I can’t—”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please,” Iwaizumi tried, desperation pooling in his stomach for a life he hadn’t even known about until moments ago. In the end, he was sure he made a fool of himself, but she at least said she’d think about it and put his number in her phone.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You may hear from me, or you may not. Don’t get your hopes up.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>After that conversation, it was all he ever thought about. Having kids was never really on his radar, he didn’t exactly think it was a possibility for him. He was gay, not that he was about to tell his one-night stand that. He sighed, dropping his head into his hands. He finally figured it out. She bore a vague resemblance to Oikawa, the same shade of brown hair and similar eyes in both color and intensity. He was an idiot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He tapped on his phone screen, pulling up Oikawa’s contact. His thumb lingered over the call button. He wanted to talk to his best friend, the dork he’d loved for as long as he could remember, but he felt so raw. He didn’t want Oikawa to see him this way. He tapped the screen a few times. The dial tone began, and he sucked in a shaky breath. Two rings and a gruff voice came over the speaker.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah?” Iwaizumi choked on a sob that he fought to suppress.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Makki…”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shit,” Hanamaki mumbled, the line sounded muffled briefly, but Iwaizumi heard him call out to Matsukawa. “What’s wrong?” Hanamaki asked once the line was clear again. A hysterical laugh bubbled out of Iwaizumi’s chest.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I fucked up,” he bit his lower lip to keep it from trembling before adding, “I fucked up really bad.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>************************************************************************************************************* </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> <em><span>“He can’t be serious,” Matsukawa hissed to Hanamaki now that Iwaizumi had finally passed out on their couch. “He’s an idiot.” Hanamaki shook his head solemnly.</span></em></p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“If he wants to do this then it’s up to him.” Hanamaki was inclined to agree with Mattsun, but there was nothing he could do to change Iwaizumi’s mind on the matter. He’d already tried.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s throwing everything away,” Matsukawa said a little louder than he intended, he winced and glanced towards the couch to make sure he didn’t wake up Iwaizumi.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“University isn’t everything,” Hanamaki offered weakly.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What is he going to do with half a degree?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Clearly, that’s not exactly high on his priority list.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe it should be.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Drop it, Issei.” Hanamaki warned. “He’s going to need someone to support him once the baby comes.” Matsukawa clearly wasn’t done with the subject but elected to just roll his eyes and stalk off to the bedroom he and Hanamaki shared.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hanamaki stayed seated at the kitchen table for a while longer. He scrolled through various posts on his timeline, lingering on a photo of Oikawa and some girl he didn’t recognize, not that he’d recognized anyone Oikawa hung out with nowadays. He considered calling Oikawa, or even texting him, asking for his opinion. Maybe he could talk some sense into Iwaizumi, but Iwaizumi asked them to let him be the one to tell Oikawa.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You don’t know how lucky you are,” she spat, glaring at Iwaizumi from the examination table. He did know. She had told him that she wasn’t going to have the baby, but somehow her family found out about the pregnancy. Apparently, she’d made something up in an attempt to keep their anger at a minimum and now she was going to go through with the pregnancy.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thank you for doing this,” Iwaizumi offered, trying to not make her too mad. She was allowing him to be in the room with her after all. She was very blunt about not caring about the gender of a child she had no intention of caring for, but since Iwaizumi wanted to know she had reluctantly agreed to letting him sit in on the ultrasound.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>When the obstetrician came in, it was stiff and awkward, the tension between Iwaizumi and the mother of his child evident, but it all melted away the second the screen lit up with grayscale blobs and shapes and the steady rhythm of the baby’s heartbeat filled the air. Iwaizumi stared in awe at the screen as a tiny human began to take shape.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“There she is, there’s your little girl.” Tears leaked from Iwaizumi’s eyes as he took it all in. His little girl. He was going to have a daughter. The circumstances weren’t ideal by any means, but he knew he would love her with all his heart. He already did.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi was pacing, his phone clamped to his ear. Something had suddenly come up and he needed to stay with his grandmother tonight at the hospital, but he couldn't justify taking Airi with him. It was late and she needed to be in bed as it was. Iwaizumi was sent to voicemail once again and he finally gave up trying to call Matsukawa and Hanamaki. If they weren't answering their phones were likely off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi tossed his phone onto the coffee table and paced some more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi packed a bag for Airi quickly. She sat quietly on the couch, the TV was on, but she was dangerously close to falling asleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa rubbed a hand over his face, who the hell would be bothering him this late? He dropped his half full can of beer on the coffee table amongst a few discarded empty cans that had piled up. He was a little annoyed, assuming that whoever it was had the wrong apartment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He yanked the door open ready to tell his visitor to leave him alone, but all his thoughts died the second he saw Iwaizumi. His usually handsome face looked worried and tired. His olive-green eyes were etched with concern. Airi was on his hip, her eyes barely open.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Iwa-- Iwaizumi?" All the air was knocked out of Oikawa's sails. He hated the raw pain that surged through him the second he saw his childhood friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry to bother you," Iwaizumi started. He did sound genuinely sorry. "I didn’t know who else to go to." Oikawa's nose scrunched, clearly confused. He had no idea what Iwaizumi was talking about. "I know it's asking a lot, but is there any chance Airi can stay with you tonight?" Confusion morphed into horror. "I can have Matsukawa or Hanamaki come get her first thing tomorrow morning," Iwaizumi added quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You want me to watch your kid?" Oikawa asked, feeling completely out of place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not comfortable taking her with me to the hospital tonight," Iwaizumi ran a hand through the back of Airi's hair. She blinked sleepily nuzzling in against his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is everything okay?" Iwaizumi nodded, adjusting Airi a bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Someone needs to stay with my grandmother tonight," Iwaizumi glanced at Airi before continuing. "She's not doing well and I'm not comfortable taking Airi under the circumstances."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh," Oikawa looked between Iwaizumi and Airi. It finally clicked. Iwaizumi was asking him because he didn't have anyone to ask. He needed Oikawa, but Oikawa didn’t know the first thing about keeping a child alive. "Iwa-chan, I don't know--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's basically already asleep, please, Oikawa." His tone was pleading and made Oikawa's knees weak and his stomach twist. He hated that sound. He didn’t want to hear Iwaizumi like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay," he conceded. "I can watch her." A relieved smile immediately spread over Iwaizumi's face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thank you," Iwaizumi's arms visibly tightened around his daughter. "Thank you, Oikawa." While there was relief in his voice there was still a hint of unease.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa awkwardly stepped out of the doorway, realizing that he actually needed to let Iwaizumi inside. He took in the state of his living room and realized how unfit it was for a toddler. It wasn’t clean by any means. The floors could use a good sweeping and there were too many takeout containers and empty beer cans littered both the kitchen and coffee table. He winced when he heard Iwaizumi step up behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oika—"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She can sleep in my bed," Oikawa cut Iwaizumi off before he could comment on anything. Oikawa led them into the room in question. It was cleaner than his kitchen and living room, though it was also pretty barren. It held his bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. Nothing exciting or significant, though there was a pair of discarded sweatpants and boxers on the floor. Any possession Oikawa had that was related to volleyball was in a box shoved into the back of the closet. That included any photos he had from high school and of his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi stepped into the room alone once he realized Oikawa wasn't planning to enter. He gently placed Airi on the bed. Her little eyes blinked blearily at her dad.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay, princess, daddy has to go spend time with granny. Be good for uncle Oikawa, okay?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Want go with daddy," Airi mumbled, her lower lip popping out. Oikawa, who was lurking in the doorway, tipped his head to the side. He had absolutely no idea what Airi had said. He wasn't accustomed to the lack of annunciation from a toddler.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I know, baby, but it's better for you to stay here for tonight." Seemingly too tired to argue further she nodded, and her head rolled to the side, finally losing the battle to sleep. Iwaizumi pressed a long kiss to her cheek before turning to see Oikawa watching them. Oikawa's cheeks warmed as he left the doorway. Iwaizumi followed him to the living room. "Thank you for watching her," he started. His eyes drifted to the pile of beer cans. "You're not drunk, are you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do I look drunk to you?" Oikawa snapped. The question irritated him. Iwaizumi didn’t deserve to be yelled at, he was obviously stressed out and had a lot going on. Rationally, he knew this, but he couldn't help it. He'd been so irritable the past few months.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, but--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Only two of those are from tonight," he scoffed, seeing Iwaizumi's eyes on the cans again. "And one is half full still." He snatched up the can he'd put down to answer the door and dumped it out in the sink. Part of him wanted to drink it, but Iwaizumi wouldn’t have liked that he was sure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa nodded off at some point, draped over the couch in a position that would surely leave him stiff and achy in the morning. It was hard to say how long he'd been asleep for, maybe an hour or so, but he awoke to a sniffle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Airi rubbed one of her bleary eyes, tears pooling in them and her lower lip trembling. Oikawa didn’t have time to be dozy. Remembering that Iwaizumi had left his kid under his care jolted him awake immediately. Here that kid was, on the verge of tears and looking at Oikawa in a way that made him feel sick to his stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Uncle Oikawa," it took a moment for Oikawa to register that what the toddler said was his name, her speech not great and his lack of familiarity with children of this age making it difficult. "Where 'zilla?" Oikawa squinted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Airi, we should go back to bed." Oikawa thought this was a reasonable suggestion, but the tears began to spill down Airi's chubby little cheeks. "Shit," he mumbled a few times like a little mantra as he dropped off the couch to his knees in front of her, wincing slightly. "No, no, don't cry."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Want 'zilla," she whimpered miserably.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, I don’t know what that is..." Oikawa was beginning to panic. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the fuck was a ‘ziwwa’? </span>
  </em>
  <span>His heart ached at the sight of the little scrunched up features that reminded him so much of Iwaizumi when they were kids. He didn’t want her to cry.</span>
</p>
<p> <span>Airi sniffled loudly, her bottom lip wobbling dangerously as more tears slipped down her round cheeks. </span><em><span>No no no no no</span></em><span>. Iwaizumi was going to kill him. Airi whimpered sadly, her pained expression sending a wave of guilt through Oikawa. He wanted to help her, he really did. She sniffled again, wiping her nose on the back of one of her little hands as her eyes seemed to lock onto something. Her lip still stuck out, but it stopped trembling as she wandered over to what had caught her attention. It was the bag Iwaizumi had left.</span></p>
<p> <span>Airi didn't take long to find whatever she wanted from the bag. Oikawa supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, but he was anyway. She was clutching a plush Godzilla. She was definitely Iwaizumi's daughter, there was no question there.</span></p>
<p> <span>"'Zilla!" Airi squeezed it tightly, her cheeks were still damp, and her eyes shone from the tears, but she was smiling now. Thank god. Oikawa glanced at the clock.</span></p>
<p> <span>"Hey, think we can go back to bed?" He crouched in front of Airi, head tipped slightly in question. She blinked her big watery eyes at him before nodding. With one arm firmly around the Godzilla plush she stuck the other up and out. For a second, Oikawa was dumbfounded by this, until he realized she was asking to be picked up. Conceding, he scooped up the little girl.</span></p>
<p> <span>She had Godzilla squished between her little body and Oikawa's and kept her free arm draped over Oikawa's shoulder as she nestled her head into his body. He didn't even make it into the bedroom before her breathing evened out to a low, shallow pace.</span></p>
<p> <span>He eased her onto the mattress that looked far too big for such a small girl, doing his best not to wake her up again. He had to admit she was a cute kid. He shook his thoughts away and retreated back to the living room, casting one long, final glance at Airi. He left the door cracked open. He figured he needed to be able to hear her should she wake up and need something, but also didn’t want to just leave the for open and accidentally rouse her from her sleep.</span></p>
<p>
  <span> *************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa hadn't managed to get anymore sleep that night. How could he? There was a small child sleeping in his apartment and he was expected to somehow keep it alive. Sure, he had babysat Takeru when he was little, but Takeru had been in elementary school. Oikawa had never watched a baby before. Was she still considered a baby? Oikawa didn't know. It didn't matter, what did matter was that it was six in the morning and there was a tiny girl with messy dark brown hair and green eyes that twisted Oikawa's stomach in knots standing in his living room. She woke up earlier than he thought she would.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> <span>Oikawa huffed out a frustrated sigh as he tossed his phone onto the kitchen table. He'd ended up calling off work this morning because, well, there was a small child sitting on his couch watching cartoons. Iwaizumi had assured him that Matsukawa or Hanamaki would pick Airi up this morning, but when? Oikawa had no idea.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>"Uncle Oikawa?" The little girl was cuddling her plush Godzilla, her green eyes focused on Oikawa, making him squirm. "I'm hungry." She's what? Oikawa's brows furrowed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hunwry? Wha-- oh! Okay, food. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He could do that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you want to eat, sweetheart?" Oikawa was moving toward his cabinets. He didn't have a ton in his kitchen, but he figured he could figure something out. What do babies eat, exactly?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Pancakes!" Airi squealed, dropping her toy and scrambling off the couch. It took her a few seconds, as she took the “foot first” approach to crawling off it considering her size. "Daddy makes the best pancakes!" She grabbed the bottom hem of Oikawa's shorts, blinking up at him in awe. "Uncle Oikawa know how to make pancakes?" He stared down at her. He was better at Spanish than he was with the broken speech of a child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa located the things he would need to make Airi her requested pancakes. He started brewing a pot of coffee for himself and was only slightly terrified when Airi asked to help him make the pancakes. Apparently, Iwaizumi let her help cook, at least that's what Oikawa was gathering from their very one-sided conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He got her settled at the table and measured out the ingredients before handing them to her to dump together. She had a bright smile on her face and seemed to genuinely enjoy the mundane task of pouring flour and milk together. It was pretty cute to watch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> *************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p> <span>Hanamaki sighed as he rifled through his bag for his phone charger. Matsukawa was sprawled out across the bed of their room, clad in the hotel’s robes. His eyes followed Hanamaki's movements, a soft smile on his face.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>"Can you stop that?" Hanamaki, finally finding the charger and plugging it in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Stop what?" Mattsun asked just as Hanamaki put a hand on his face and pushed him away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We've been together for nine years." Makki rose a brow at Matsukawa as he sat on the bed. "Stop looking at me like that." Matsukawa smirked as he sat up and moved to sit behind Hanamaki, wrapping his arms around him and dropping his chin onto Hanamaki's shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Makki we just--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Issei," Hanamaki cut off Matsukawa, a higher pitch in his voice than normal. "Do you have a bunch of missed calls from Iwaizumi?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know," Matsukawa reached over to the other nightstand where his phone was plugged in. Both their phones had died yesterday, and they hadn't bothered to charge them until now. It was already past noon. According to their call logs they'd each missed a multitude of calls from Iwaizumi from the night before. He hadn't left any voicemails, but he'd sent a few texts. "He had this weekend off, didn't he?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah," Hanamaki quickly scanned the text that explained the situation and why he'd called so many times. Makki passed his phone over to Matsukawa to read the message before Mattsun cleared his throat and gave Hanamaki a regretful grimace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He wanted us to pick Airi up this morning..." Matsukawa's eyes dropped to his own phone where his message explained what Iwaizumi ended up doing with Airi.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Shit, keeping a toddler entertained at a hospital--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's with Oikawa." Hanamaki blinked at Matsukawa. A silence settled over them before Hanamaki got up in search of his jeans, his barely charged phone pressed against his cheek. He let out a breath once Oikawa picked up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hello?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is Airi still with you?" Hanamaki skipped the pleasantries, guilt building in his chest for the two of them having been unreachable the night before. There was a pause followed by the muffled voice of Oikawa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, I've still got her." Oikawa hoped he didn’t sound as tired as he felt. Things had gotten easier after he fed Airi, </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank god</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and she was an easy kid to handle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can come and get her, but it’ll be a few hours.” Hanamaki glanced over at Matsukawa who was reluctantly pulling himself out of bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A few hours?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re not home at the moment, but we can leave right now—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you guys are busy it’s fine. I can keep watching her. Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We really don’t mind—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve got it, really. Do you want to talk to her?” This caught Hanamaki off guard. He didn’t have the chance to answer before Airi’s voice replaced Oikawa’s. She rambled on excitedly about cartoons and pancakes. Eventually, Oikawa came back on. He insisted once again that it was fine and they didn’t need to worry about coming to get her. Hanamaki hung up and turned to Matsukawa, who was pulling on his shirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Change of plans,” Hanamaki tossed his phone on top of his bag and smirked at his fiancé. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The wonderful @theellipelli over on Instagram and Tumblr made some adorable artwork to go with this chapter! I highly encourage you to check it out! </p>
<p>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCMb6gMlNe1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link<br/>Tumblr: https://theellipelli.tumblr.com/post/622632375113973760/finally-time-to-post-this-been-sitting-on-this</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Uh," Matsukawa nudged Iwaizumi to get his attention. Mattsun gestured in the direction Oikawa was in, sitting by himself at a table, cocktail in hand. There were several empty glasses on the table in front of him already. He looked upset. "Is he okay?" Iwaizumi opened his mouth to answer, but Hanamaki cut him off by grabbing Matsukawa's arm and starting to pull him away in the direction of the dance floor. "Go talk to him," he managed to hiss before he was drug off by his husband. Iwaizumi watched as they disappeared into the crowd of various friends and family that were here. He swallowed thickly before turning his attention back towards Oikawa. He was in the process of clumsily shocking off his suit jacket. Oikawa was usually fairly graceful; this tipped Iwaizumi off that the guy was probably drunk at this point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi couldn't take it. He hated seeing Oikawa look so miserable. As he got closer to the table that Oikawa was sitting at he could see that Oikawa's cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. Oikawa didn’t even seem to notice him until he sat down beside him and took the glass out of his hand. Iwaizumi figured that he'd had enough to drink tonight. Oikawa's brown eyes roamed Iwaizumi's face, his brow furrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"'S mine," Oikawa slurred softly, waving his hand vaguely towards his confiscated drink. Iwaizumi smiled and shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We're done drinking for tonight, alright?" Oikawa frowned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Iwa-chan, I missed you. I still miss you..." Oikawa slumped in his chair, glancing sadly in Iwaizumi's direction. "I love you, ya know?" Iwaizumi froze, green eyes widening. His heart was suddenly beating loud enough he was sure Oikawa could hear it. "Always have."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oikawa--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's not fair, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa adjusted himself in his chair, so he was facing Iwaizumi, his eyes were watery. This sent a new wave of panic through Iwaizumi. "I gave up everything for a career that failed! I lost my best friend and he's moved on with his life. All my friends are leaving me behind..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No one is leaving you, Oikawa." Iwaizumi attempted to console him, though his own thoughts were still on the word "love."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Mattsun and Makki have each other, Iwa-chan had a baby, who does Toru have?" Oh, god. Iwaizumi had never actually witnessed Oikawa drunk before. He was pretty sure that Oikawa wasn't much of a drinker anyway, but this was clearly going downhill pretty fast. "No one, that's who. Not even volleyball." Oikawa's head thunked against the table, the glasses he'd amassed rattled together. He was now sitting there with his forehead pressed against the fabric of the venue tablecloth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We still care about you, and Airi loves you." It was true. Iwaizumi had never stopped caring about Oikawa, his feelings for his best friend had always been there, even when he wished they weren't. And Airi loved Oikawa. She had ever since she spent the night with him. She was always asking when she could go over again, then after learning he worked at the grocery store near their apartment she switched to asking if they could go visit him at work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Toru wants Iwa-chan's love." Oikawa sniffled and rolled his head to the side so he could see Iwaizumi. There was a red mark on his forehead where he'd hit it on the table, and a few tears had escaped his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The conversation didn't get any better. The more Iwaizumi tried to comfort Oikawa the worst it seemed to get. He started to full on cry, and thankfully Mattsun and Makki wandered over to them before the ugly crying began.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus, Oikawa—“ Hanamaki crouched beside Oikawa’s chair, it almost looked like he was checking over Oikawa like he would Airi.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you say to him?” Matsukawa asked Iwaizumi quietly. Iwaizumi looked at him, slightly offended that he would think Iwaizumi is the reason Oikawa is crying. Well, he technically was, but not because he said something to upset him.</span>
</p>
<p> <span>“We’ll call you a cab, okay?” Makki suggested to Oikawa.</span></p>
<p> <span>“I can take him,” Iwaizumi offered. Oikawa was muttering something that the three of them ignored while he wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve. Mattsun and Makki argued that they didn’t want Iwaizumi to have to leave early on the one night he wasn’t working and kid free, but he insisted. Honestly, he wasn't much of a partier after the night Airi was conceived, so he would gladly take the excuse to slip out of the wedding reception. He loved his friends, but he was ready to call it a night.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi, tasked with getting Oikawa home, helped his friend into his car before climbing in behind the wheel. He was thankful that he hadn’t drank anything himself and that Mattsun and Makki had chosen a venue that was relatively close to their respective apartments.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> *************************************************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Iwa-chan," Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi's shirt, half untucking it from his slacks. "Please don't leave me." Iwaizumi knew Oikawa was drunk, shit faced really, but he could also see the broken look in Oikawa's eyes. He cast a glance towards the bedroom door and decided it was better for him to stay. He should make sure Oikawa was okay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” he conceded, prying Oikawa’s fingers off his shirt so he could sit on the floor beside the bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Oikawa slurred. His hand fell on Iwaizumi’s shoulder, grabbing a handful of the fabric again. Iwaizumi took a shallow breath, looking at Oikawa’s slender fingers. He didn’t bother removing his hand. “I love you, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi didn’t respond. He stared into the darkness of Oikawa’s bedroom. It didn’t take long before Oikawa’s breathing evened out, telling Iwaizumi that he was asleep. Oikawa’s fist relaxed it’s hold on Iwaizumi’s shirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi didn’t leave right away. He stayed put for a little while, listening to Oikawa’s light snoring. Eventually, he decided to head home. He gently moved Oikawa’s arm back onto the bed and covered him with his blanket before quietly slipping out of the apartment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>******************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a slow night, so very slow. Oikawa's eyes were constantly searching for the clock. He was exhausted, and honestly, he felt like tonight's shift was a waste of time. He'd helped one customer in the six hours he'd been here. One. He could have used this time to catch up on the sleep he so desperately needed. Working three jobs was going to kill him, but he couldn't keep living on his savings. They were quickly dwindling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bell over the door chimed, announcing a customer's arrival. Oikawa groaned inwardly. He was so close. His soft ends in two minutes. Two. And now he gets to assist a customer. He was already irritated, but once he recognized the dark spikes and stupidly handsome face of Iwaizumi his agitation grew. Seriously?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without even diverging towards the shelves, Iwaizumi walked right up to the counter. Oikawa sucked in a deep breath and tried to put on his customer service face. The quirked brow and concerned look on Iwaizumi's face told him it was a fruitless effort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey, what time do you get off tonight?" Iwaizumi asked, somehow shoving his hands deeper into the pockets of his jeans. Oikawa bit his lower lip, eyes locating the clock once again. One minute before he could clock out, but did he want Iwaizumi to know that? No. No, he did not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He opened his mouth to lie to Iwaizumi, unfortunately, his manager seemed to appear out of nowhere. She cut him off and practically was shoving him out from behind the counter before Oikawa really registered what was going on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll clock you out. Bye, have fun!" Wait what? Oikawa turned around just as the door closed in his face. Iwaizumi shrugged when Oikawa glared at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You look like shit."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Jee, thanks," Oikawa rolled his eyes, stomping off in the direction of his apartment. It had rained earlier, the rain always seemed to make his knee achy. It just added to his ill feeling towards tonight. He just wanted to get some sleep before his early shift at the mall. Iwaizumi easily caught up to him, worry etched into his expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you okay?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you sure."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oikawa," Iwaizumi slowed, Oikawa not caring and letting distance build between them. "Oikawa, I'm worried about you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Don't be." Iwaizumi stopped chasing Oikawa, holding his breath for a long moment before letting it out slowly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Toru—"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you want—" Oikawa whirled around to face him, to tell him off, to make him leave him be. Iwaizumi looked so vulnerable and desperate. He was on one knee, which was sitting solidly in a murky puddle. He had a little box in his hands, presenting a simple gold band to Oikawa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Toru—" Iwaizumi's voice cracked. This wasn't at all how he wanted this to go, but he just couldn't wait anymore. He had to say it. He needed to say it. He'd been drowning in his feelings for years; he’d accepted that he would never have them returned once Oikawa left for Argentina. Oikawa had left him, and Iwaizumi didn't blame him. He'd never hold Oikawa's dream against him. He needed to go, and on some level, Iwaizumi wished that Oikawa hadn't had to return when he did. He hated seeing Oikawa as broken as he was. He wasn't the same hardheaded, overly confident person he'd been their whole lives. "I've always loved you. I think you know that. You're the strongest person I know, and I can't take being apart anymore. I need you, Toru. You have no idea how badly I need you. Please marry me. I don't have much to offer you, and of course I'm a package deal with Airi now, so I understand--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Stop talking," Oikawa's head was down, his eyes locked on his sneakers. There was still a measurable amount of space between them. Neither moving to close it. The streetlamps and moon acted as their only source of light, reflecting off the water pooled the ground. "Please, stop talking..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I love you..." Iwaizumi's voice cracked again, tears welling in his eyes. He squeezed them shut in an effort to keep them from spilling. God, rejection sucked. Not that he had expected much else. Oikawa told him that he loved him in a moment of weakness, when he was drunk no less. Iwaizumi couldn't get that moment out of his head. "Please, Oikawa—"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi hadn't even heard Oikawa backtrack to him. His eyes snapping open when hands found his, gently pulling up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Get out of the mud, Hajime." Iwaizumi blinked, a rogue tear escaping down his cheek as he let Oikawa pull him back to his feet. "You're an idiot, you know that?" Iwaizumi nodded. He did know that. He was an idiot for not telling Oikawa how he felt years ago, an idiot for letting his emotions get the better of him, and he was an idiot for running away from his feelings and Oikawa for so long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi went still, his body locking up as Oikawa's lips met his own. Oikawa's hands, still holding his own, managed to close the lid of the ring box. His hands shifted, finding Iwaizumi's cheeks. Finally letting himself relax, Iwaizumi's eyes closed, and he returned the kiss. All too soon, Oikawa pulled away, his own eyes watery as he tipped his head at Iwaizumi, an almost smile playing at his lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is this what you really want?" His voice was hardly a whisper, uncertainty evident in his tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes. More than anything," Iwaizumi wanted to close the distance between them, even though it was mere inches, it felt like too much. Oikawa nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay." Iwaizumi thought that was it, that Oikawa was going to walk away and that was the end of this conversation. "Yes." Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa, the word not really registering. "I'll marry you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You will?" Oikawa couldn't help but laugh at the disbelief in Iwaizumi's voice. The sound was beautiful, tired, but beautiful, and brought a smile to Iwaizumi's face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah," Oikawa dropped his arms over Iwaizumi's shoulders, pressing their foreheads together. "I will."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>******************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa was nervous. He was sure that he didn’t really need to be, he'd watched Airi before and it was fine. It just felt different now that he and Iwaizumi were officially together. Airi was on the couch asleep, having passed out watching cartoons apparently. Iwaizumi kissed her forehead before giving Oikawa a quick peck before rushing out the door to get to work. Oikawa stood in the living room a bit clueless. Iwaizumi hadn't really given him instructions; he had been running late and hardly said anything to Oikawa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa was grinning when Matsukawa walked into Iwaizumi's apartment. He'd honestly expected the place to be a disaster, perhaps on fire. Seeing Oikawa smiling and letting little Airi paint his nails was about the last thing Mattsun expected, though he couldn't blame Oikawa. Airi had that effect on all the men in her life. They all doted on her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Having fun?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest and a lopsided smirk on his face. Oikawa looked up at him, surprised, not having noticed him coming in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Look, Uncle Mattsun!" Airi beamed up at him, showing off her own nails which were painted, presumably by Oikawa. "Now it's Uncle Oikawa's turn!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I see that. Your nails look very nice, Riri." Pulling out a chair, Matsukawa sat down at the table with them. "Iwaizumi sent me over so you could go if you want." Airi was once again distracted by painting colors messily onto Oikawa's nails, and fingers, she wasn't great at keeping the paint contained to the nails.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What?" Oikawa glanced at Mattsun, a hint of worry etched into his brow. "Does Iwa-chan not think I can handle watching her?” Matsukawa's own brows shot up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, he just figured you might be tired. I mean, you're not exactly used to taking care of a toddler." Oikawa let out a little humph.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Uncle Mattsun, could you braid my hair?" Airi gave him a pleading look that she must know by now was impossible for him to say no to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sure," he smiled softly as he took the nailpolish from her, twisting the cap on. Oikawa examined his nails, an odd expression on his face that Matsukawa wasn't sure what to make of.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matsukawa moved to the couch, slowly working Airi's hair into twin braids, while Oikawa sat on the in front of the couch letting his freshly painted nails dry. Hanamaki did the best job of styling Airi's hair, but Matsukawa liked doing it. He was also very gentle with it, or so Airi said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once Iwaizumi got home, he'd expected Oikawa to be gone. He blinked at the scene he found in his living room. Matsukawa was passed out on the couch, Airi laying on his chest sound asleep, and Oikawa was on the floor leaning against the couch snoring softly. Iwaizumi smiled at them, slipping his phone out of his pocket and snapping a quick picture and sending it to Hanamaki. They would agree the image was adorable, but would also give Mattsun and Oikawa shit for it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>******************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa gently laid Airi in his bed, pulling the blankets over her. If he was going to watch Airi overnight he should probably look into setting up a bed for her, but he'd worry about that later. Her eyes blinked slowly, clearly fighting the sleep that was pulling her in. She gave him a tired smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Goodnight, daddy." Oikawa froze, the word sinking in. Did Airi just call him daddy? She was already snoring softly when Oikawa finally managed to force his feet to move him out into the living room. Wet tears rolled down his cheeks as he sank onto the couch. Running a hand through his hair, Oikawa fumbled for his phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hello?" Hanamaki's voice was rough with sleep. Oikawa opened his mouth to talk, not really sure why he called Makki anyway, but a sob escaped him, and the tears began to flow just a little harder. "Oikawa?" Concern took over, replacing the sleepy quality to Hanamaki's voice. Oikawa heard Matsukawa grunt in the background, followed by the low rumble of his voice. Oikawa couldn't make out what he was saying though. "What's wrong, Oikawa?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa tried to explain, but Makki understood next to none of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Take a deep breath and try again," Hanamaki suggested gently. It took Oikawa a few tries but he managed to calm himself down, for the most part anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Airi called me daddy," Oikawa explained, using his sleeve to scrub at the tears still leaking down his cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah?" There was a hint of amusement in Hanamaki's voice now. "So why are you so upset?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not upset," Oikawa protested. "I'm happy. I'm really happy..." Matsukawa's voice rumbled in the background again, the line went muffled for a second.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Congrats, welcome to the club." Oikawa didn’t get a chance to unpack that statement before the line got muffled again and Makki's voice came back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Shut up, let him have his moment."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's called all of us daddy at some point,” Matsukawa called from the background. Hanamaki hissed something at him, which only resulted in Mattsun laughing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad she’s that comfortable with you,” Makki tried when he finally stopped bickering with Matsukawa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too,” Oikawa said wistfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>******************************************************************************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few weeks of officially being engaged, having completely skipped the dating phase, much to Mattsun and Makki’s annoyance, Iwaizumi asked Oikawa to move in with him. Of course, they both had their concerns about the change and what kind of impact it would have on Airi. It was fine in the end. She seemed to like having Oikawa around all the time, getting along with him well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Daddy!” Airi chipped, flinging herself at Iwaizumi. Oikawa glanced in their direction but continued to focus on the breakfast he was making. He would never understand how that little girl had so much energy first thing in the morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Morning—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What am I supposed to call him?” Iwaizumi blinked at his daughter. She was pointing at Oikawa so presumably that was who “him” was in reference to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Iwaizumi set her down in a chair at the table and moved to get her a glass of juice. Oikawa smiled as he watched her struggle to find the words she wanted, making a cute little grabby motion with her hands while she thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re daddy, but if you’re going to…” she paused again, brow furrowed. “Married! If daddy is going to get married, like Matt-sun and Makki, then he’s also going to be my dad. Isn’t he?” She looked up at the two of them, Iwaizumi’s mouth was open slightly, caught off guard by her thought process and the understanding of what was happening. Oikawa just looked like he was going to cry again. “But it would be confusing to call you both daddy. And he’s not a mommy—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a bit more conversation, Oikawa did end up crying again, but Airi decided she felt that papa was fitting enough. Iwaizumi had to finish breakfast while Oikawa fussed over Airi and calmed himself down. Seeing how Oikawa interacted with his daughter and how much she seemed to like him was comforting. They were the two most important people in his life. He really couldn’t ask for anything more.</span>
</p>
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